Caprica: Season 1.5 DVD Review

The Battlestar prequel delivers some great episodes in what turned out to be its conclusion.

Poor Caprica. The Battlestar Galactica spin-off/prequel had a very ill-timed months-long break in the middle of its first season that killed any attempt at gaining momentum. And when it did return, it was a rather last-minute bit of scheduling, with little promotion, on a much tougher night than before. Just four weeks into airing "Season 1.5," Syfy revealed they were cancelling the series – and they didn't even finish airing the final five episodes… (they plan to burn them off early next year).

That being the case, unless you live in Canada (where the episodes have aired) or have seen them through illicit means, this DVD set will be most fans' first chance to see the final episodes. So what is in store for you? Really awesome stuff that only makes the show's cancellation all the more frustrating. While the first couple of episodes of "1.5" weren't great, the show suddenly kicks into gear big time from the third episode ("Things We Lock Away") on in this nine-episode collection.

Almost all the characters get some of their best material yet. I felt the storyline on Gemenon early in the season was pretty weak, but when Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) is sent there by Clarice (Polly Walker), it ends up being a terrific turn of events – what occurs strengthens Lacy considerably, while continuing a thread established in "False Labor" of bringing the Cylons into the story in bigger and more fearsome ways.

Perhaps the character that I had the most trouble with in the early episodes, Clarice, comes into much better focus here. We see just how fanatical and narcissistic she can be all at once and she is a much more formidable threat as a result.

The final episodes ramp up the Caprica story in a big way. The show, criticized early on for being too slow-paced and ponderous, ups the tension considerably, as Daniel (Eric Stoltz), Amanda (Paula Malcomson), Joseph (Esai Morales) and Sam (Sasha Roiz) all find their lives in danger – I especially loved a Panic Room type scenario that has two characters locked inside a room, with a group of people with murderous intent trying to get in - which is even more frightening because those in danger are in the VR world, and don't realize what is going on with their physical bodies.

There's also a very big twist that occurs here – one that is both a nice swerve on what we all assumed based on Battlestar, yet fits if you've been paying close attention to details from both series.

The season (and now series) finale, "Apotheosis," pays off on a lot of building storylines and goes big when it comes to action. It's exciting and suspenseful and leaves you wanting more… and very sad, realizing there won't be more. Interestingly, there is a coda to the finale, showing events from the future for the characters. While executive producer Kevin Murphy says that Season 2 would have shown how we got to these events, it's also not hard to assume there was a bit of protection going on here, as these little segments offer a bit more… well, I won't call it closure. But they offer some cool, "Wow, so that will happen to that person!" reveals that help make the ending a bit easier to take, even with the questions these glimpses leave us with.

The video and audio is very good. Caprica has a very interesting style, with sequences set in multiple planes of reality (the real world of Caprica, V-World and the even more surreal New Cap City, among others), that all have their own characteristics. The transfer captures the great cinematography very well, while the audio conveys all the cool Cylon sounds FX that come alone with this tale.

There are a few deleted scenes and video blogs exploring different aspects of the show. More interesting are the podcasts, which include different participants, including Magda Apanowicz, whose enthusiasm and love of the show are wonderful to hear. There also are some very candid comments from executive producer David Eick, as these were recorded while the first few episodes of "Season 1.5" were airing and the show was clearly in danger.

Best though are the commentaries from Kevin Murphy, particularly on the finale. Murphy was brought in as showrunner specifically for these episodes, and he discusses the problems with the show he and the writers were attempting to fix along the way and how he decided to do certain things, like up the references and direct ties to Battlestar. He too is also refreshingly candid, explaining just how much various aspects effect a TV show, as we learn that certain characters don't appear in the finale both because of scheduling issues and budgetary ones.

Some of the things Murphy talks about wanting to do are heartbreaking, because they sound so cool. This includes appearances from either Tricia Helfer or James Callis as "Head" Six and Baltar, which fell through for various reasons, and a lot of information about where Season 2 might have gone. One revelation about someone Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) was destined to meet is packed with "Oh wow, that would have been awesome" elements.

While Murphy recorded this commentary in October, before the show was cancelled, it's hard not to think he saw the writing on the wall – I kind of figure that's why he talks so much about what might happen in Season 2, since it was probably already deemed unlikely that Season 2 would happen.

Watching this DVD made me very sad Caprica was cancelled, but I'm glad the show went out so strong. There are a lot of elements here that could potentially be used in the in-development Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, which I'm curious to see. For now though, let's raise a glass to Caprica proving its worth, even as it was cut short.